It's more than "just a box"...

This past weekend we made a trip to IKEA.  We were on the hunt for a new sofa and when we finally found the one we wanted and picked it up, the kids seemed really excited.  The sofa was packed in 3 massively large boxes…and with all its wonder the boxes were more exciting than the actual sofa themselves.  

 

Why is it that all children, no matter the age – show more fascination with the box than what is actually inside?  But it’s not "just a box" – is it?  It’s the imagination of what the box can become that fascinates my 3, 6 and 9 year old.  From building rocket ships, to boats and houses, my kids were on a roll this weekend - Painting, drawing and cutting out windows to make their creations even more real.

With all this excitement, I couldn’t help but remember back to my years as a kid when my Dad would bring home boxes.  The 3 of us (I and my 2 bothers) would spend our days making houses with them.  We spent hours playing in our box, decorating them and putting our own special touch on each of them.  These were more than just boxes to me; they were “real” – with cut out doors and windows.  We would even eat our lunches inside, Good Memories for all of us!

One of the gals in the office shared a story about how her 2 year old son loves to play with cardboad blocks.  As her son got older, he started to build more…and there never seemed to be enough blocks for him.  So she took old tissue boxes and painted them…Voila, New Big Blocks!

I started to think about the company…and all the boxes we have made along the way. Our boxes have provided a mode of transportation and protection for products entering the marketplace, useful information on how to use products and a way to establish brand power among competitors.

It’s a funny thing to tell people I make boxes…Some wouldn’t think twice about it.

But for me… it’s more than “just a box”…isn’t it?